Avenging Amethyst (Immortal Eyes) (8 page)

"Have you
been taught anything about self-defense or fighting before?" Felix asked.
He had opened up one of the storage rooms and we started dragging mats out.

"Not a
thing," I said.

"So we'll
need to start with the basics. How athletic are you?"

"Not
very," I admitted. "I always wanted to try out for sports but my mom
never let me."

He sighed.
"Let's go outside then. I want to see how well you can run."

We stopped
dragging out mats and headed out one of the back doors that led outside. It was
starting to get dark outside but I could still see a running track hidden
amongst the trees. Felix produced a stop watch that I didn't see him grab
earlier.

"I want you
to jog five laps. Pace yourself so you don't get worn out too fast."

I followed his
orders without too much complaint and started to jog. After the third lap I was
panting but I kept going. I had no endurance and by the end of the fifth lap my
legs were wobbly and I could barely breathe. I started to feel self-conscious
and I hoped the sweat dripping down my face wasn’t very noticeable.

"That's all
you've got?" Felix asked.

"I told
you... Not very athletic," I panted.

"Well,
before we start any kind of defense training we're going to have to build up
your stamina and endurance. I doubt you have much muscle either. Let's go back
inside. We're going to do some weight training."

The rest of the
night was filled with alternating between weight training, running and yoga
stretches. We took a break for lunch but we worked almost non-stop. By the time
Felix called it quits I was drenched in sweat and my body hurt so much I didn't
know if I would be able to make it back to my room.  Felix had done most
of the exercises with me and he hadn’t broken a sweat once. His hair was
still perfect, his body not slouched in pain and his breath was even the entire
time.

As we walked
back to my room, I realized I was staring at Felix way more than I should be.
We made small talk the whole way and he would occasionally compliment me on
something I did during training. There was no doubt that my face was bright red
from blushing but I hoped he would think it was from all of exercise. Anytime
he smiled in his cocky way my heart always jumped and I would hear myself
giggle.

At the door to
my room, Felix hesitated before he said what was on his mind. "I’m
sorry I acted rude earlier this morning. There’s been a lot on my mind
lately and I didn’t think I could handle training you. It went a lot
better than I imagined."

"So does
that mean you’re not going to dump me off on another Lovac?" There
was flirtatious hint to my voice and I wondered where it came from. I had never
flirted with another boy before and I didn’t know I was even capable of
it.

Felix laughed
and smiled sideways. "No. I think I’m going to enjoy whipping you
into shape."

He was flirting
back with me. Maybe not consciously, but he was definitely flirting back with
me. I heard myself giggle again. It was a stupid nervous habit I had and I
mentally slapped myself for not being able to control it.

"Get some
good sleep. Tomorrow’s going to be much worse."

"Is that
supposed to get me excited about training?"

"Absolutely,"
he said with another bright smile. He shocked me even more by giving me a hug
that lingered slightly longer than a friendly hug would and ran off down the
hallway. I stood frozen in front of my door for a full minute before rushing
inside and slamming the door shut.

He hugged me.
And he was flirting with me. Why was this guy that knew we had no chance of
being together being so friendly with me? Not that I was really complaining.
His hug had been warm and full of his spicy cologne that only held a hint of
sweat. I’m sure I enjoyed it much more than he had. I probably smelled
like an old man’s armpit and I was still damp with sweat.

I collapsed on
the bed and groaned. Why was I worrying so much about what Felix thought? I
never had guy trouble before but I always wondered what it would be like. I
didn’t like it one bit. I was grateful my mom had kept me sheltered now.

I froze,
mid-groan. My heart sunk at the thought of my mom. I had no right to be
worrying over a guy when my mother had just been murdered. I felt guilty for
not mourning my mom enough and I felt my eyes water a little bit.

But I still
didn’t have the energy to mourn her properly. My tears were only enough
to wet my eyes but not spill over. My heart ached but it didn’t feel like
enough.

After lying in
bed for a few minutes and trying to grieve for my mom and I sighed and pulled
myself off the bed. I smelled horrible, felt sticky and I desperately needed a
shower.

It took the last
of my energy to keep myself standing up during my shower but it was worth it.
My stomach had started to growl halfway through the shower and once I was
finished I ordered dinner off the laptop.

Once the food
was delivered, I shoveled it down and crawled into bed. The second my head was
on the pillow, I was asleep. I didn’t think I had ever been so tired in
my entire life.

For the first
time in over a week I didn’t have a nightmare. I woke up feeling
refreshed but so sore I could barely move. I barely managed to get out of bed
when Felix knocked on my door to take me to training.

"Your
muscles will stretch out the more you move," he told me when I wobbled
down the hall next to him a few moments later.

"It feels
like they’re tightening the more I move," I said through gritted
teeth.         

He laughed.
"I'll help you stretch once we get to the gym."

"How am I
supposed to run or lift anything when I feel like this?"

"It'll get
better as the day goes on. Besides, how are we supposed to toughen you up if we
let you slack off?"

"It seems
more like you're trying to break me."

It took a while
to make it to the gym with every muscle in my body protesting but Felix didn't
seem impatient. My wandering eyes were worse today and they seemed to follow
Felix’s every move. He didn’t seem to notice though and I was
grateful for that. I was still kicking myself about my feelings towards Felix.
They were definitely growing, instead of disappearing like I hoped they would.

Once we were in
the gym, he turned to me and said, "I'm going to help you stretch your
muscles. It's going to hurt a lot at first but it will feel better soon."

He had me put my
arm over my shoulder and down my back while he held me still and gently pulled
my arm down to stretch the muscle. He was right, it did hurt, but after a few
moments it started to feel really good. I wasn't sure if that was because of
the stretch or because of Felix's touch. His hands were warm as they moved all
over my body to help stretch out my muscles, leaving a tingling sensation
wherever his hands touched. He was the perfect balance of gentleness and
roughness.

The heat of his
body near mine almost made me dizzy. The smell of his cologne was making me
light-headed. I didn't want him to stop but once my upper body was all
stretched he pulled away. Disappointment washed over me until he told me to lie
on the mat on the floor so he could help me stretch my legs.

Which was
awkward, to say the least. Most of the time he was on the side of me but there were
a few times when he was practically between my legs. I was sure my face was
beet red the entire time and I could swear I caught glimpses of a longing look
in his eyes. I wasn’t the only one enjoying this.

Once that was
done he stood up quickly and offered his hand out to help me up. I accepted and
when he pulled me up, I was face to face with his smoldering look. I had no
idea what was running through his mind but he confirmed my suspicions. He was
affected by our closeness just as much as I was. His eyes were wide and it felt
like they were staring inside of me.

He reached up,
almost running his hand along my cheek, but he snapped out of his daze and
yanked his hand and himself away. "How do you feel?"

My sigh of
disappointment wasn't very subtle. "Still sore but a little better."

"Good.
Let's go out for a jog," he said, trying to sound calm but there was a
hysterical note to his voice.

My body was
protesting but I did my best to ignore the pain. If I wanted to be accepted in
this world I needed to learn how to fight. If I ever wanted any chance of
revenge for my mom's death I needed to be tough. I took a deep breath and
headed outside for my jog. To my surprise, Felix jogged next to me. His excuse
was he wanted to make sure I didn't fall over on the track but I think he
needed to run off any feelings about me he stirred up from helping me stretch.

My time was much
slower than yesterday due to my sore muscles but I didn't feel quite out of
breath by the end of it. We did almost the same routine as yesterday. Jog for a
while, lift weights for a while, yoga stretches to cool down, then repeat.
After we finished our lunch, I expected us to continue the routine but Felix
said I had another sort of training to start.

"You need
to start learning how to block out the darkness. It will get a lot more
difficult to learn, the longer we wait. I'm not good at teaching that kind of
thing so Rema has agreed to help you out. There aren't any major council events
coming up so she has some free time after lunch where you can train. Unless
something changes we'll plan on physical training in the morning and mental
training in the afternoon. Once you build up enough endurance and strength then
we'll move on to defensive moves and fighting."

"How long do
you think that will take?"

"Don't be
so eager. You just started yesterday. Once your body adjusts to the schedule
you will start to make a lot more progress but it will still take time."

He was right. I
was eager. I wanted to learn everything and be good at it in a few weeks and
start going after Zhulik and find that demon. I didn't want to be stuck around
here being other peoples' burden. I felt bad that Felix had to waste his time
with me.

And that's
exactly what I told him.

"You're not
wasting my time. Your determination proves that you'll be a great fighter one
of these days. And you really shouldn't be so eager. Killing is not a fun thing
to do. It will stay with you forever and make your nightmares worse."

"How many
Zhulik have you killed?" I asked. The haunted look in his eyes made me
rethink my desire to do this.

"Seven.
Which is a lot for someone my age. Most Lovac only kill about seven in their
whole lives. They're hard to kill and even harder to track down. Whatever you
do, don't let them get to you first."

That was all he
would tell my about his experiences with Zhulik. He told me maybe he would tell
me more when I was ready but for now that was all I needed to know. He 
led me back up to the place I had originally met the council members and Rema
was sitting on one of the couches waiting for us.

"I'd
appreciate if you could stay and help with the training, Felix," she said.
I shot him a pleading look. Rema was nice but I didn't know her very well and I
desperately wanted Felix to stay to keep me company.

He didn't even
have to look at me to agree to stay. "Of course. I want Avery to learn
this as fast as possible."

Rema nodded and
turned to me. "Has Felix told you what my power is?"

"No. Well,
maybe. Are you the one who can locate Lovac anywhere in the world?"

"No,"
she laughed lightly. "That's the old bat, Darcy. If she wasn't so useful
she'd probably be retired but she doesn't mind too much."

"Then
what's your power?" I asked.

"I have the
ability to control darkness. I can make it manifest itself in other people as a
torture device or I can help take it away from someone who is suffering. Of
course, the more I take away from others the more it affects me. I would have
deteriorated a lot faster than a normal Lovac if I hadn't found my Dimidium so
young."

"I hear
you're lucky to have found your Dimidium," I said, remembering what Riley
said about them being so rare.

"Don't
sound so hopeless. The other Lovac have been telling you we've been cursed
haven't they?" She gave a pointed look in Felix’s direction but he
shook his head.

"Riley
might have said something," I muttered, hoping I wouldn’t get her
in trouble. All Rema did was sigh.

"We haven't
been cursed. I have faith that our Lovac will find their Dimidiums again. You
should too."

"How does
it work?" I suddenly asked.

"What? My
power?" Rema's eyebrows drew together in confusion.

"No. The
Dimidium thing. How do you know if someone is your Dimidium and how exactly do
they calm the darkness in us?"

She smiled and
stared past me as if remembering something from the past. "When you first
see your Dimidium it will feel like you've been blinded by goodness. All of
those dark feelings you have will be completely washed away for a moment. You
may not know the person and you may not even like them at first but eventually
you will grow to love them. Rick and I couldn't stand each other when we first
met but the more I spent with him the more I grew to love him. Now I can't
stand being away from him. As for how they calm our darkness, no one is really
sure. My theory is that a Dimidium is literally a soul mate. When you first
meet, your souls connect and from then on the Dimidium will slowly pull out
just enough darkness to keep us sane. It doesn't seem to affect them at all
though."